Clock



Nov. 21, 1939. 5;. F. FARRENS 2,180,627

CLOCK v Filed Aug. 1e, 19:58 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR E'. R Fazlrezas BYv Q 9 E S..

ATTORNEY NOV. 2l, 1939. El F FARRENS 2,180,627

CLOCK y Filed Aug. 16, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR EFFaJFelLS BY @@zmm;

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 2,1, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOCK Calif.

Application August 16, 1938, Serial No. 225,157

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to clocks, and in particular is directed to improvements in that type of portable clock which includes dual dials facing in opposite directions and a single moto-r unit disposed therebetween; the motor being arranged by suitable mechanism to drive the hour and minute hands of each dial in the proper direction.

'I'he principal object of the present invention is to provide, in a clock of the type described, a simplified drive mechanism for the hands of the opposed dials.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable, opposed dial clock which may include a standard clock motor with only slight alterations; this feature being important as a manufacturer can produce both single and opposed dial clocks without the necessity of designing and manufacturing a special drive motor or clockwork mechanism.

As an opposed dial clock cannot have the winding and setting controls on the back as is usual, it is also an object of the invention to provide an assembly whereby the controls are accessible from a point between the dials of the clock; the usual winding and setting shafts of the standard motor being included in such assembly.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specication and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure l is a front view of the clock illustrating the added dial, partly broken away.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the clock; the case being shown in section.

Figure 3 is a cross section takenl substantially on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary plan View, somewhat diagrammatic, of the added direction changing gear mechanism.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral I designates a cylindrical clock case which is initially open at its ends; such case being supported by a hollow, open bottomed base 2. The ends of case I are fitted with glass faces, indicated at 3 and 3a, which are mounted in place in the usual manner.

The main clockwork mechanism or motor unit,

including the alarm wind spring motor 4, is of standard construction, and is confined between the usual front plate 5 and back plate 6 secured together by means of tie bolts l. In the present device, the plate tie bolts 'I are extended, as at 5 la, and support an additional plate 8 behind the plate 6 which actually becomes and will now be termed the back plate, while plate E will be described as the intermediate plate. The motor unit and including the additional plate are 10 mounted within the case I by brackets 9 to which are secured the outer ends of the extended portionsA la of the tie bolts.

One dial I0 is supported intermediate plate 5 and glass face 3 by fingers I I which are mounted 15 on and project from said plate; while another dial Illa is similarly mounted between plate 8 and glass face 3a by means of fingers IIa. The dial I0 is the one included in a single dial clock, as is the minute hand I2 mounted on the drive 2 shaft I3; the hour hand I4 being carried as usual on a sleeve I5 surrounding shaft I3 and driven at reduced speed by the usual train of gears IB mounted on plate 5.

The minute hand Il for dial Illa is mounted on 25 a stub shaft I8 which extends inwardly through back plate 8; such stub shaft being alined with but separate from the minute hand shaft I3 of the clock motor as shown in Fig. 4. The hour hand I9 for dial Ita is carried by a sleeve 2D which 30 surrounds shaft I8, the sleeve being driven at reduced speed by a chain of gears 2I mounted on plate 8. The mounting of hands Il and I9 in connection with shaft I8 and the operation of the hands therefrom is common practice and the 35 same as heretofore described relative to hands I2 and I4 for dial Ill.

However, it is necessary that shaft I8 be driven from the motor in a reverse direction relative to the direction of movement of shaft I3. I ac- 40 complish this result by means of the following mechanism which is simple in structure and. inexpensive to manufacture:

A Countershaft 22 is journaled between plates 6 and 8 to one side of but parallel with shafts I3 45 and I8. A gear 23 is xed on shaft I3 adjacent the side of plate 6 away from plate 8, while another gear 24 of the same size is fixed on countershaft 22 adjacent the same side of plate 6. An intermediate gear 25 is journaled on plate 6 50 and meshes with said gears. Countershaft 22 is thus driven in the same direction as shaft I3.

A gear 26 is fixed on the Countershaft adjacent plate 8 and meshes with a like sized gear 2l fixed on the inner end of shaft I8. With the two gear 55' trains above described, shaft i8 is rotated in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation of shaft i3 as is necessary to provide proper directional mo-vement of hands ll and i9 relative todial lila. To assure the alinement of shafts' i3 and Hl, the hub 27d of gear 2'! forms a bearing for the adjacent end of shaft I3 and in which hub said shaft turns.

In order to provide accessible setting and Winding controls for the clock, the time winding shaft 28, the alarm winding shaft 29, and the alarm setting shaft 30 are each extended from plate 6 to plate 8 as shown. Separate control rods 3l, 32 and 33 respectively are bracket supported either on plates 6 or 8 and extend downward from a point adjacent the several extended shafts to a termination in the hollow, open bottomed base 2 where they are provided with the usual finger members indicated at 54, 35 and 36. Pairs of bevel gears 3l, 33 and E@ respectively are mounted in connection between and transmit motion from the rods to the corresponding shafts'. The control rod l0 for shaft d3 is mounted in the same manner as the other rods and includes a ringer member lll; a bevel gear unit 4Z connecting the rod 40 and shaft i3. As shaft I3 rotates continuously to drive the hands for both dials, I reduce the frictional drag on such shaft by including a spring '13 on rod lll which acts to normally shift rod d@ lengthwise and hold the bevel gear thereon out of mesh with the corresponding gear on shaft i3.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as dened by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a clock movement having front and rear frame plates, and a minutehand shaft projecting rearwardly of the rear plate, tie rods connecting the plates and projecting rearwardly o-f the rear plate, a third plate disposed rearwardly of said rear plate and secured on the projecting portions of the tie rods, another minute-hand shaft turnably supported in said third plate and axially alined with the rst named shaft, and a gear train connecting the shafts to cause said second named shaft to turn in a direction opposite to that of the first named shaft and mounted partly on the rear plate and partly on said third plate.

2. In a dual face clock movement, separate axially alined minute-hand shafts whose inner ends are adjacent each other, a reversing ,gear train between the shafts including a gear having a relatively long axial hub into one end of which the inner end of one shaftprojects in non-turning engagement and into the other end of which the inner end of the other shaft projects in turning relation.

EDWARD F. FARRENS. 

